Harrison and I met in the summer of 2017 in Atsugi, Japan. He had been stationed there for 6 months prior to when I was stationed at NAS Atsugi Navy base. I arrived with a group of new sailors to the command, VFA-27, and we were "Beach Det" essentially we did all the cleaning and prep work to welcome back the squadron from deployment. Harrison was sent back early to catch the jets that would be flying back to home base. This was because he was very good at his job. My first time meeting him was in an office that we all would hang out in until we were inevitably given busy work jobs where Harrison seemed to give me some special attention. He told me all the tips and tricks for how to survive deployment and what to expect out to sea on the USS Ronald Reagan. Later, leadership asked for a "brake rider" which I didn't know anything about. Harrison volunteered and climbed up to the cockpit to ride along in the jet while they towed it. Since I love aviation, I thought he was the coolest when I saw him do that and I wanted to learn more about being a "brake rider." (Of course our Navy friends will get a chuckle out that). Hindsight, Harrison and I will admit that we both took notice to each other, but at the time of meeting, I was dating someone back in the states which ended that latter part of the deployment and at the same time Harrison started dating someone. Our chemistry grew out on the flight line when we would occasionally work along side each other prepping jets. I would tease him with my quick wit while doing my checks on ejection seats and leave him stuttering, trying to find a witty comeback for me before I moved onto the next jet. Most mornings, I would look out my window and I'd see Harrison running through the quad at the barracks with a weighted vest on and I remember thinking, this was a different kind of man that I had ever met. I admired him for his dedication to his goals and he served as an inspiration to pursue my goals even with the setbacks that the Navy gave to both of us in our career pursuits. In 2019, Harrison left Japan and he left the Navy. When the door closed to go back to Navy SEAL training, he pursued a contract with the Army. This eventually led him to his current job as an Army Ranger. He floored me with his ability to adjust and find another open door. I admired him even more for not giving up and being the definition of resilience. When my efforts to apply to be a Navy pilot were thwarted, I also had to go back to the drawing board and find a new way. That's when I contacted Harrison via Messenger and asked his advice for how to switch from the Navy to the Army. Every so often, while on deployment in 2020, I would reach out to him for advice on this process. And then I was tasked with helping other sailors on their career development which led to more questions from me since he was the only success story I knew about. Harrison took this opportunity to point out that he thought "I just missed him and wanted an excuse to talk to him." At the time, I did not agree! Our sporadic messages during my deployment and his Army training pipeline did cause me to wonder if there was something there between us, but I thought he was too good for me and would never be into me. On Christmas day 2020 in Japan, I messaged him Merry Christmas! I wasn't sure if he liked me back but I remember realizing that I had definitely developed feelings for him. He made a very flirty comment to me and I called him out for being so flirtatious- because I didn't want to be led on! He took this opportunity to explain that he meant what he said and wanted to date me. I was in disbelief at the time, but reciprocated my feelings. So whether we count Christmas Eve in the states or Christmas day in Japan, we decided then that we would be boyfriend and girlfriend. A year later, December 2021, I got stationed in the states and he finished Ranger school, we got to reunite in person on our 1 year.

The proposal began on a sunny Wednesday afternoon overlooking the cliffs at Crystal Cove State Park. With the ring tucked deep in my pocket I began walking with Caitlin along the trails and down towards the beach, looking for the perfect spot to pop the question and not to arouse suspicion. It took several tries and waiting for people to clear out until I found a perfect outcropping that overlooked the shoreline. We talked for a while and admired the sun setting over the cliffs when I decided the time had come, telling Caitlin to admire the ocean while I pulled the ring out of my pocket. As I got down on one knee I saw the happiness in her eyes and I felt like the luckiest man in the world to be able to spend the rest of my life with such an incredible woman.